Oleksandr Usyk vacating IBF title forward of Joshua-Dubois bout

Oleksandr Usyk introduced through Instagram on Tuesday that he’s vacating the IBF heavyweight title, which now shall be on the road when Anthony Joshua fights Daniel Dubois on Sept. 21 at London’s Wembley Stadium.

IBF president Daryl Peoples confirmed to ESPN that the heavyweight title was vacant, however refuted experiences that Dubois had been elevated to champion, saying no ruling has been made.

The Joshua-Dubois bout shall be formally introduced at a information convention Wednesday and would be the first Riyadh Season occasion within the U.Ok. The primary such occasion outdoors the dominion is the Aug. 3 Terence Crawford-Israil Madrimov bout in Los Angeles.

Ukraine’s Usyk ascended to the highest spot in ESPN’s pound-for-pound rankings when he defeated Tyson Fury through cut up determination final month in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the undisputed heavyweight championship.

Now, all 4 belts will not be on the road when Usyk meets Fury within the Dec. 21 rematch in Riyadh. The WBC, WBA and WBO titles shall be up for grabs, however the IBF title shall be contested between Joshua and Dubois.

Usyk’s obligatory IBF title protection was overdue, and it was dominated going into his combat with Fury that the winner should face the obligatory challenger subsequent or be stripped. With a two-fight deal in place, Usyk’s transfer Tuesday was anticipated.

Dubois scored an eighth-round TKO victory over Filip Hrgovic, then the No. 1 contender, earlier this month in Riyadh to win the IBF interim title.

“Anthony and Daniel, pay attention: I do know, IBF title essential to you,” Usyk stated in his video Tuesday, calling his determination to vacate the belt “my current to you on Sept. 21.”

Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) already owns wins over Joshua and Dubois. He scored consecutive determination victories over Joshua in 2021 and ’22 earlier than he knocked Dubois out in Spherical 9 of their August assembly.

Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) and Dubois each hail from England. Joshua’s previous two fights passed off in Riyadh, and now he’ll return to the 90,000-plus-capacity Wembley Stadium, the place he has headlined twice. Joshua, 34, is a former two-time heavyweight champion and ranked No. 3 within the division by ESPN. He is coming off a spectacular second-round knockout of former UFC champion Francis Ngannou in March.

Dubois is ESPN’s No. 6 heavyweight. His different profession defeat got here in opposition to Joe Joyce, a Tenth-round knockout in 2020.